Lothian buses hand £3.5m in council subsidy to rivals after two Edinburgh bus services go to First

Lothian will no longer operate the 20 and 63 services in Edinburgh

Lothian Buses have been slammed by councillors after failing to win two subsidised bus routes deemed essential by Edinburgh City Council.

The council owned bus operator will no longer run the 20 and 63 services after deciding to not take part in a council tender process for at least one of the routes.

It means nearly £3.5m of council subsidy money will go to First Scotland rather than back into council coffers, with any profit also going to private hands rather than public.

The contracts for running the number 20 and 63 routes are just under £2m and £1.5m respectively for their full term including extensions.

Council supported routes are services which would otherwise be commercially unviable, but are deemed essential by a local authority to residents.

The council received one tender for the 20 service and two for the 63, both of which used to be run by Lothian buses, and awarded both contracts to privately owned First.

The decision was slammed by Liberal Democrat spokesman Kevin Lang who described the bus company as “increasingly obsessed with core money spinning routes”.

He said: “It’s astonishing that Lothian Buses has turned its back on these lifeline routes.

“This is the council’s own bus company showing shameless disinterest in providing services identified as essential for some of our more isolated communities.

“It’s symptomatic of a company increasingly obsessed with core money spinning routes whilst taking on other bus operators outside of Edinburgh. Meanwhile, people need a company which focuses on ensuring all parts of Edinburgh are properly served with decent public transport and a more diverse route network.

“We know from this week that Lothian will get a change of leadership. This needs to herald a change of attitude too.”

Concerns over the impact on passengers was also raised by Green councillor Claire Miller who said the decision could lead to passengers spending more due to a lack of ticket integration with the rest of the Lothian network.

She said: “Lothian Buses has missed a trick by not bidding for these supported bus service contracts.

“People find it convenient to use one pass or ticket from Lothian Buses to jump on any bus or tram, and it’s a real shame that they won’t have that option.

“I’m sure the local communities will be disappointed to hear that Lothian Buses did not even enter a bid to serve them.”

A Council spokesperson said: “The Council has undertaken a competitive tender process to secure best value using its bus service framework contract, which has seven operators including Lothian.

“In line with procurement regulations, the returned bids have been assessed on cost and quality and recommendations for contract awards are contained in a report which will be considered by members of the Finance and Resources Committee next week.”

Lothian buses were contacted for comment.